Braj Kitchen · Concept
What is sattvik food? (And why no onion or garlic)
Sattvik food is the pure, plant-based diet of Ayurveda and yoga, built on the quality of sattva, meaning pure, natural, clean and balanced. It centres on fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, fresh dairy and ghee, and it leaves out onion, garlic and mushrooms, which are classed as rajasic or tamasic. This is the food tradition behind Braj cuisine and temple prasad.
Sattva and the three gunas
A sattvic diet "is a type of plant-based diet within Ayurveda where food is divided into three yogic qualities (guna) known as sattva."[1] Sattva carries qualities that are "pure, essential, natural, vital, energy-containing, clean, conscious, true, honest, wise."[1] It is one of three gunas:
| Guna | Quality | In food |
|---|---|---|
| Sattva | Balance, harmony, purity | Fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains, fresh dairy, ghee |
| Rajas | "Agitated, passionate, moving, emotional"[1] | Spicy, hot, fried and acidic food |
| Tamas | "Dark, destructive, spoiled, ignorant, stale"[1] | Stale, overly processed food, plus onion, garlic, mushrooms |
Why no onion or garlic?
"Pungent vegetables leek, garlic and onion (tamasic) are excluded, including mushrooms, as all fungi are also considered tamasic."[1] In yogic and Ayurvedic thinking onion and garlic are seen as overly heating and overstimulating, capable of causing "aggression, anxiety, overstimulation of senses,"[2] and are treated "as medicine or purifiers and not as food items."[2] That is why they have no place in pure, prasad-quality food.
Sattvik food and Braj cuisine
Braj cuisine is sattvik by tradition. Krishna's worship in Mathura "has given rise to a gastronomic culture that embodies the principles of Satvik food," and "vegetarianism is another tenet of Braj cuisine, reflecting the Vaishnavite emphasis on ahimsa (non-violence)."[3] A sattvic diet itself is said to "exemplify ahimsa, the principle of not causing harm to other living beings."[1] The two traditions point at the same plate.
Sattvik vs plain vegetarian
All sattvik food is vegetarian, but not all vegetarian food is sattvik. A vegetarian dish loaded with onion, garlic, deep-frying or stale leftovers is, in this framework, rajasic or tamasic, not sattvic. Sattvik food is the stricter, purer subset: fresh, lightly handled, and free of onion and garlic.
How Mathurawala treats sattvik
We are pure vegetarian across the board, and the items we mark sattvik carry no onion or garlic, in keeping with Braj's temple-food roots. Everything is made live and fresh, never frozen, with no preservatives used in the kitchen, the most modern reading of an ancient idea of purity.
Frequently asked questions
Is sattvik food vegan?
No. Sattvik food embraces fresh dairy, ghee, milk and curd, which are seen as pure and nourishing. It is vegetarian, not vegan.
Are all Mathurawala dishes sattvik?
Everything is pure vegetarian. The items we mark as sattvik are made without onion or garlic. Ask our counter which dishes are fully sattvik.
Why is temple prasad sattvik?
Because prasad is food first offered to the deity, it follows the purest standard: vegetarian, fresh, and free of the rajasic and tamasic ingredients like onion and garlic.
Eat pure, made-live Braj food in Pune
Pure vegetarian, sattvik where marked, fresh every day, no preservatives.
Visit us in Baner, PuneSources
- Wikipedia, "Sattvic diet": en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sattvic_diet
- The Yogic Belief, "Why yogic diet has no onions and garlic": theyogicbelief.com/why-yogic-diet-has-no-onions-and-garlic
- Wikipedia, "Braj cuisine": en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braj_cuisine